


Elderheart’s Dream

by figsgobrr



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama & Romance, F/M, Friendship/Love, Genetic Disorders & Abnormalities, Original Character(s), also elderheart and tulipdapple are the best names sorry, he fails lmao, in this house we stan cinderpelt shut up, more prophecies yay just what we need :), still the same shebang, tigerclaw still tries to murder-kill bluestar, yes it’s cinderpelt, you know warriors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24800215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/figsgobrr/pseuds/figsgobrr
Summary: He’s the runt of the litter, and an oddity among his clan, Elderkit, son of Brindleface and Whitestorm, thinks he's found his place in ThunderClan as its third medicine cat, but when he learns he can see through the eyes a city cat, he knows there’s someone who holds a sinister secret that threatens the fate of all the Clans.To save his home, his kin, and everything the Clans stand for, Elderkit places faith in the yin and yang of stars and death, and walks between the borders of StarClan and the Dark Forest to defeat an enemy more dangerous than they’ve ever seen before.“When something false seems real, a broken promise shall cut through whom you love with sharp claws and teeth, and bring destruction to all that you’ve known. You must possess the light that can vanquish the dark, and save all that is left.”
Relationships: Elderheart/Cinderpelt (Warriors)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Elderheart’s Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Please,” Spottedleaf pleaded, her soft mew catching the white warrior off-guard, “if Elderkit is in any danger, I’d let you know. This is something else... just let me speak to Bluestar. She needs to hear this, from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi,
> 
> i told myself i wasn’t going to post this but it’s [whalie's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xbloodywhalex) fault, so here you go. more food. 
> 
> also idk when i’m going to be updating my other fics. pls don’t kill me :)

Brindleface had curled closer to her very first litter, gaze fixed on her little runt.

He looked gaunt, for a kitten, with dark circles under his eyes that weren’t even open yet. He didn’t even wail, she didn’t think there was enough strength in him to do so. Would the kit even latch? He barely moved.

"What's wrong with his face?” Brindleface whispered, horrified at the sight. He wasn’t going to make it through the night, looking like that.

“I’m not sure,” Spottedleaf murmured, “I have never seen something like it before.”

“Has StarClan cursed him?” Brindleface gasped at the thought, but Spottedleaf brushed the queen’s flank with her tail, soothing her.

“StarClan doesn’t curse kits,” Spottedleaf assured her, “these things, they just happen sometimes.”

“Can you cure it?” Brindleface implored, but even she knew this was beyond the medicine cat’s power. At least the other three seemed healthy.

“You should spend as much time with him as you can,” Spottedleaf suggested, “I’m not sure how much you have left with him.”

“You may as well fetch Whitestorm for me,” Brindleface’s mew cracked with grief, and Spottedleaf dipped her head before leaving the nursery to retrieve the white warrior waiting outside. Brindleface heard rustling, and spotted Whitestorm hurrying towards her, concern in his gaze.

“Are they alive?” Whitestorm crouched beside her, and Brindleface pulled her tail away to reveal her newborns.

“Alive, yes,” Brindleface said wretchedly, “but I’m not sure for how long.”

Whitestorm seemed to understand, “Which one?”

Brindleface pointed to the runt, “I want to name them. Before it’s too late.” He deserved a name, even if StarClan called for him tonight.

“As you wish,” Whitestorm nodded, and she laid her tail on the first kit. He was grey, like her, and the flecks on his little pelt looked like falling ash.

“Ashkit,” she said, and her eyes flickered to his sister squirming beside him, “and Fernkit, for her stripes. They look like fern leaves.”

Whitestorm hummed in approval, and Brindleface glanced towards her smaller tom-kit. He was a copy of his elder brother.

“Tulipkit, for his splotches that resemble tulips.”

“Fine names,” Whitestorm agreed, and Brindleface finally turned to her last kit, with something rheumy streaming from his closed eyes, and dried snot around his little nose as he’d weakly nosed for her milk. Brindleface gently moved him closer to her belly with her hind-leg, and used her plumy tail to warm him.

“Elderkit,” Brindleface decided, “for I pray, that his spirit will be as wise and honorable as all the elders in our Clan.”

“Little Elderkit,” Whitestorm’s eyes softened, “it'll grow on me.”

Spottedleaf returned to set down some borage in front of the queen, amber eyes warm as she looked at the kits, “This will help your milk come.” She nuzzled every one of them fondly, as if they were her own. “Welcome to ThunderClan, young ones.”

As soon as her nose touched Elderkit’s small form, she flinched away suddenly, reeling back as if she’d taken a hard blow. She saw stars collide, and scatter into forests that smelt of rot, twinkling even in the decay. Brindleface and Whitestorm tore their gazes from their kits to stare at her, surprised as she stumbled backwards, fur puffed out and eyes gone into slits. Brindleface curled her tail closer around her newborns.

“Spottedleaf?” she mewed slowly, “What’s wrong?”

Whitestorm stood over his family as Spottedleaf wobbled on her paws, dazed. After some heartbeats, she blinked, her dizziness wearing off. Last she saw of the stars were that they still sparkled ever so brightly, even in the shadows. Was it some sort of omen? How was it connected to Elderkit?

Spottedleaf glanced towards the kit, and when Brindleface noticed her gaze rest on him, her eyes darkened.

“What did you see?” Brindleface demanded, but Spottedleaf merely shook her head.

“I... I’m not sure,” she mewed hesitantly, “I’m not sure it’s even from StarClan. This was... different.”

“What do you mean, _different?”_

“I... I need to speak with Bluestar,” Spottedleaf backed away, ears flat, but Whitestorm weaved his way in front of her and blocked her exit.

“Is Elderkit in danger?” Whitestorm narrowed his eyes, “You can’t just leave without explaining.”

“I must speak with Bluestar!” Spottedleaf insisted, “I cannot tell you anything without letting her know first.”

“He’s our kit!” Whitestorm protested, “We deserve to hear whatever it is you know!”

“Please,” Spottedleaf pleaded, her soft mew catching the white warrior off-guard, “if Elderkit is in any danger, I’d let you know. This is something else... just let me speak to Bluestar. She needs to hear this, from me.”

Whitestorm stood perfectly still, and Spottedleaf thought she’d have to push her way through, but the warrior stepped aside, sighing.

“Thank you,” she mewed, and cast one last glance to Brindleface and her kits before ducking through the vines of the nursery to search for a familiar blue-gray pelt in the moonlight. Tigerclaw was with her, murmuring something into her ear until he'd spotted the tortoiseshell approaching them, and alerted his leader by mouthing what Spottedleaf could tell was her own name. Bluestar sat up, ears pricked as she greeted her medicine cat.

“How was the kitting?” she asked, “Did all the kits make it?”

Spottedleaf climbed her way up the Highrock, with Tigerclaw scooting over to make more space for her.

“Brindleface delivered four beautiful kits. It’s just... one of them. She’s named him Elderkit. He’s very sickly.”

“Will he make it?” Bluestar ventured, tilting her head. Spottedleaf shifted her paws.

“Only time will tell,” she mewed, “but there’s something else,” Spottedleaf glanced towards Tigerclaw, who seemed to listen carefully, “I think I’ve been given an omen.”

Tigerclaw leaned forward, interested, “From StarClan?”

“I... This didn’t feel like an omen from StarClan,” Spottedleaf said helplessly, “I’m not sure where it even came from.”

Bluestar looked pensive, “If not from StarClan, then from who?”

“This is what concerns me,” Spottedleaf confessed, “as I welcomed the kits, and as soon as I’d touched Elderkit, I was given a vision of falling stars, and someplace that smelt of rot and decay, and everything was so dark, I couldn’t see much. All I know is that the stars still shone, even in this horrible place.”

“Elderkit, you say?” Bluestar mused, “He’s important, then?”

“If he is, it’s important he makes it through the night,” Tigerclaw put in, “if we want to figure out what this omen must mean, for us and the Clan.”

Bluestar turned to Spottedleaf, “When is the soonest you can leave for the Moonstone?”

“Sun-high. I want to make sure the kits live to see their first dawn first,” Spottedleaf confirmed, “until then, I’ll stay in camp to keep an eye on them.”

“Then, it’s settled,” Bluestar decided, “you’ll leave at first light.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so,, for those of you who are confused,, elderkit and tulipkit are brindleface’s two kits that passed away in the first arc, and were left unnamed until su’s missing kits project. elderkit’s name was probably based off of an elderberry tree, but i thought it was a pretty strange name for a kit, so i decided it would make more sense if elderkit was born with a genetic defect that made him very scraggly and gaunt, almost like an elder, so hence the name! 
> 
> i’ve had the idea for a very long time now, and after a lot of thinking, i finally decided to post it!  
> thanks for reading!


End file.
